The Rest of the Story

So, while we were oogling over new baby John in the hospital room - the same room we oogled over one of the other kids (can't remember which one), Mom was at the house playing Legos, reading, playing with dolls, etc. Cousin Allison was also there for 2 shifts per day. Grandma and Papa led everyone up to visit the new baby in the hospital the very afternoon he was born. Uncle Caleb and Uncle Chelle made their way from Raleigh as well for some quick baby kisses.

The next morning, Michael called home to check on things and found that Mom had tripped over the baby gate in the hallway in the dark the night before and landed on her already bad knees. She was unable to walk, but had managed to get both kids out of bed and fed, somehow. He raced over to take her to the ER (at UNC, just the next building over) for the day while Patty and Allison stayed with Amelia and Thomas. Mom left the hospital with a cane, in a wheelchair, with some x-rays of the damage, a prescription, and an order to see her dr. in FL asap. I'm guessing she was the only patient in the ER who also got to leave the building with a new grandson in tow! We're hoping her knee heals up quickly so she can come back to play with us!

We spent Tuesday getting unpacked, nursing, changing Mom's return flight, figuring out how to clone Michael since he was the only one who could walk AND follow verbal directions. It was quite interesting to say the least, but we made it through the day.

John's first visit to the pediatrician was Wednesday, and he seems to be following the patterns set for by his sister and brother. He's dropped 9% of his body weight, despite round-the-clock nursing - like for 4 hours straight several times a day. As much as it pains me to have to nurse, then supplement, pump, take meds, etc. it looks like that's the road we're headed down again. It's a good thing we have experience and can get rolling with it all without too much trouble, other than a bit disappointment.


John's all swaddled up right now resting while everyone else is returning from the library with some new books. Not to be gross, but here are some of the conversation around our house:

Who has beep?" Thomas grabs his rear and runs for the changing table saying, "Me!" We've noticed a recent explosion of receptive and expressive language from the boy. He's just the so pleasant, even when he squeals...

and then there's Amelia out of the blue, who claimed tonight, "Baby John Kelley farted on my hand sideways. That's how I know he loves me." Both of the big kids are very much in awe of their cute new sibling, trying gently pat his hair or give him their favorite toys. I hope it stays so sweet in the years to come.